The Master Builder
by Henrik Ibsen · Bygmester Solness
Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- 1892
- Form
- Drama
- Language
- Norwegian
- Length
- Short · 100 ppunder 120 pages
- Difficulty
- Moderate2 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendFour Major Plays: A Doll's House, Ghosts, Hedda Gabler, The Master Builder, translated by James McFarlane and Jens ArupOxford World's Classics, 2008Accurate translations from the Oxford Ibsen, with three of the other plays on the lists in the same volume.
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Halvard Solness, a successful architect, is afraid of the younger generation and haunted by the fire that destroyed his wife's family home and killed their infant sons, a fire he half believes he willed. A young woman, Hilde Wangel, arrives and reminds him that ten years ago, after climbing a church tower he had built, he kissed her and promised her a kingdom. She urges him to climb again to crown his new house. He does, and falls.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns The Master Builder are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
